Improvement in cultivators



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

A. J. SPARKS, OF VYYANET, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CULTIVATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,959, dated December 15, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, A. J. SPARKS, of Wyanet, in the county ofBureau audState ofIllinois, have invented a new and Improved Corn- Plow; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a plan or top view of my invention; Fig. 2, aside sectional view of the same, taken in the line :0 m, Fig. 1; Fig, 3, a transverse vertical section ofthe same, taken in the line 3 y, Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a rectangular frame, having a draft-pole, B, attached to its front end. This frame A is mounted on two wheels, 0 G, the axles a a of which are of bent form and are bolted to the back part of the frame, the front part of the latter being supported by the team.

D represents a double-tree, which is attached centrally by a bolt to the under side of the frame A, near its front end, a whiffletree being attached to each end of the double-tree.

E E represent two parallel bars, to the back ends of which the drivers seat F is attached. These bars E E are fitted in metal loops or guides c 0, attached one to each side of the frame A and arranged in such a manner that the bars E E may slide freely through them, said bars resting on the frame A and retained on them at any point by pins d, or any other suitable catch or fastening. By this arrangement the drivers seat F may be adjusted more or less forward or back, according to the weight of the driver, and the machine may thereby be properly balanced at all times, and in case the driver prefers to walk behind the machine he may shove the seat F entirely forward, as shown in red in Fig. 1, so that it will be out of the way.

G G represent two levers connected by a joint. The lever G is connected by a swivelfulcrum, e, to the frame A, which fulcrum admits ofsaid lever being'worked laterally and up and down. The lever G has also its fulcrum fon the frame A,but said fulcrum only admits .ofalateral working or movement ofthelevcr G.

T0 the back end of the lever G there is attached a metal plate, 9, havinga slot, h, made in it longitudinally, through which a segmentrod, 21, at the front end of the leverGr passes. This rod t and slotted-plate 9 form the joint which connects the two levers G G.

To the front end of the lever Gr there is attached aplate,j, which has a slot, It, made lon the plow-beams H are attached and braced by rods 0*. These beams have each two plows, I I, attached to them at opposite sides, and arranged in the usual or any proper way. The plow-beams H H are sustained by upright bars J, the upper ends of which have rollers s attached to them, which rest ona way or guide, 2, on the back part of the frame A. The lower ends of the bars J are made ofcylindrical form, have screw-threads cut on them, and pass through the beams H, and a nut, u, is placed on these screws, one above and below each beam. By turning the nuts a the beams H may be adjusted and. the plows I made to penetrate the earth at a greater or less depth, as may be desired. The two upright bars J J are connected by a horizontal bar, K, which has a series of holes made in it to receive pins or rivets a, which pass through the bars J. By inserting these pins or rivets v in different holes in the bar K the beams and plows may be placed the desired distance apart to suit the width of the spaces between the rows of corn. The front ends of the beams are adjusted in a similar manner by having a series of holes made in the bar at to receive pins or rivets 20, which pass into the plates or loops n.

The upright bars J are braced by rods a, attached to the bar K and bars J, as shown clearly in Fig. 3, the pins or rivets b, which pass through the upper ends of the rods a, passing through any of a series of holes, 0, in the bar K. The bar K has a bail-shaped rod, L, attached to it, to the upper part of which the lever Gr is attached by a pin, d.

From the above description it will be seen that by moving the lever G laterally the plow beams will be moved laterally, as the-lever G is connected by the rod L to the bar K, which connects the upright bars J, and in consequence of the lever Gr being connected to the lever G, as shown, the frontparts of the beam will be moved simultaneously with the back parts. By this arrangement, in connection with the friction-rollers, the plows may beadjusted laterally with the greatest facility and with but little friction.

Each plow-beam H has a hook, M, attached to it, and to the under side of the back part of the frame A there are attached two pendent hook-projections, N N, which, when the plowbeams H are raised and moved laterally, admit of the hooks M being caught over them, so as to retain the plows in an elevated position above the surface of the earth, as shown to the sinuosities of the rows of corn, so that no plants will be plowed out or injured in any way by a too "close proximity of the plows in passing them, and the plows at the same time be made to work at aproper distance from the plants.

The great difficulty attending the perfect operation of these laterally moving or adjustable plows has been a want of facility in moving the plows-an objection which, it is believed, is fully obviated by my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The two levers G G, connected together by a joint formed of the slotted plate 9 and segment-rod i, and attached to the plow-beams H H, substantially as shown, to admit of a ready lateral movement of the same, as well as the ready elevating of the plows above the surface of the earth, as set forth.

2. The suspending of the plow-beams H H from the frame A by means of the upright bars J J and inclined bars pp, provided with rollers s 0 at their upper ends, which work on suitable ways or guides, substantially asset forth.

3. The hooks M on the plow-beams H, in connection with the pendent hook-projections N on the frame A, when said parts are used in combination with laterallyanoviug plow- ,beams, for the purpose specified.

A. J. SPARKS. Witnesses:

J. ItJSPARKs, W M. RQFRANKEBERGER. 

